It may be hot but its that time of the year... PUMPKIN!

What a busy week it has been. I have been getting things ready for  a wedding this weekend. The neat part about it is it's a friend I went to High School with. I always extra love being apart of a couples special day when I know them. Their wedding is very fall inspired so with that comes some fantastic fall cupcakes. One of which being a pumpkin spice. I had some extra pumpkin puree left over so I wanted to use it up. A quick grab and go breakfast is always appreciated in this hustle  bustle house. Or maybe I just appreciate myself later for thinking ahead!

Anyways! here is the ever so easy Oatmeal Pumpkin Muffin!

no-stick cooking spray
1/2 cup all-purpose flour   
1/2 cup whole wheat flour                          
 1/2 cup white sugar                                                  
1 teaspoon salt                                                    
 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice                                                    

3/4 teaspoon baking powder                                                   

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon                                                                     

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg                                                    

1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree                                                   

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (4oz)    

2 eggs, beaten                                                    

1/4 cup maple syrup                                                    

 

3/4 cup quick-cooking rolled oats

 

whisk together all your dry ingredients. Flours, sugar, salt, spices, powder and soda.

beat your eggs, add your pumpkin puree, yogurt (you can use milk too if you don't have yogurt) and syrup. add your dry to your wet mix until combined (I used a spatula) and then fold in the oats.

 

Spray a cupcake pan with cooking spray, or you and butter and flour your pans if you don't have spray.

I used a 2oz scoop for my muffins and I got a dozen.

Bake 375 for 25 min! perfection!

 

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do! Yep these are Luci and Gavin approved as well!

P.S. For you extra busy moms like me, muffins are totally freezable! Double or triple your batch and be set all Fall!

The two that make my world go round...

Proud to introduce the world to my two heartthrobs. Luci and Gavin. The most amazing, tenderhearted, loving, challenging, exciting, spontaneous kids you will ever know! They are my any and everything. What I do is done for them or with them in mind. I am beyond lucky to get to experience life with these two by my side.
Also, they are great guinea pigs for taste testing new recipes. Nothing beats the honesty of a child!

my second butternut squash alternative....

Spiced Butternut Squash Quinoa Muffins

I always love when I am searching for something new to make and I have all the ingredients in my cabinet! Makes life so much easier! These muffins are tasty little guys. I just handed one off to the kiddos so we'll wait and get the verdict from them (hopefully by the end of the post).

Muffins
 1 ¼ c whole wheat flour(I used AP)
¾ c brown sugar, packed
½ t ground cinnamon
½ t ground nutmeg
1 t baking powder
½ t salt
¾ c cooked quinoa
2 eggs
1C of roasted butternut squash soup (if you don't have the soup just used canned puree or cook and puree a cups worth of squash)
4 T butter, melted
½ c milk
2 t vanilla extract

Almond Streusel
1/3 c chopped or slivered almonds
1/4 c sugar
2 T whole wheat flour
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground nutmeg
2 T butter, melted

Preheat 425
Streusel is easy peasy... just combine all the ingredients until it is crumbly and set aside.
In a separate medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg, and stir until well combined.  In a larger bowl, beat together the butternut squash puree, eggs, vanilla, melted butter and milk until smooth.  Gradually add the flour mixture to the squash mixture in three batches, stirring until smooth between batches.  Finally, fold in the cooked quinoa until completely combined.
Scoop batter into a muffin tin that’s either been greased or lined with paper muffin liners. I used paper liners  but they stuck really bad so I would just grease your muffin tins for easier removal.  Top each muffin with a small amount of streusel then bake for 30 minutes, until the streusel is golden and the center of the muffin is no longer moist when tested with a toothpick.  Remove from heat and allow to cool completely  before removing from the pan.

Kids verdict on the muffins: TWO THUMBS UP! (these will be great for their lunches or snacks at school!)

Happy Baking Folks!

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The infamous leftover struggle....

Leftovers. A word I really despise. Well maybe not so much the word, but you get it. I am not a leftovers person. Something about food being reheated (especially in a microwave) truly just doesn't satisfy me. For as long as I can remember I always just made enough food to feed everyone for that one meal. It was all fine and dandy when I wasn't working and home all the time, but now working full time, taking care of two kids on my own and racking up side jobs like you wouldn't believe I really don't have the energy to cook like that.
Recently I have tried to create a compromise with myself. I have been trying to cook for the family for the entire week in one day. Yes, this means food is reheated BUT it also means that I can eat something different every night without cooking every single night. So far, its working but then again its only been week one. HA!
So now I have leftovers...I really can't just toss them and they're still good but I think we're all a little sick of the Roasted Butternut Squash Soup. What am I going to do with it all, it did make a bit much.
This is the recipe I used for my soup.Tasted delicious but was a bit thick for my soup likings.


This is the deliciousness that took place while making the soup
Roasted squash, apples, sage,garlic

The first recipe I wanted to make was a butternut squash biscuit. O M G these are great, kids gobbled them up straight out of the oven.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons cold butter cut into bits
1 cup leftover  roasted butternut squash soup (may be a little bit more, use enough to bring the dough together so you can work with it)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
I pulsed my dry ingredients in the food processor. You want your butter to be pea sized balls
Add your soup to the flour mixture. Pulse for a few seconds.  The dough should stick slightly to your hands.
I transferred my dough into a  bowl and used a scoop. I scooped about 12 biscuits onto prepared cookie pans.
Bake 7-9 minutes, or until the biscuits are nice and golden brown. These are best served warm!